50 Years of Yachting Passion

Navigation

Dufour Insider: How the boats are built. (Part 5) Final Assembly

We’ve loved digging into the details of the Dufour production line with you during these last brutal weeks of winter. But like all good things, the end of our popular “How the boats are built” series only leads to the beginning of an even better one…How these sexy Dufour Yachts sail. So be sure to check back for plenty of reports filled with photos and videos of what it’s like to sail all the new models being built in La Rochelle, France as we speak.

But meanwhile back on the production line, the nearly completed boats continue their steady march toward the trucks at the end of the line that are waiting to take them to destinations all over the world.

The furniture modules have all been lowered into place. The wiring and plumbing has been run. Bulkheads have been tabbed in place. Fixtures are installed. And the boat is really starting to look like what you’ll see on the water in a couple weeks.

So last big event, lowering the deck down onto the inward-facing flange of the hull-to-deck-joint–is all that’s left to do. And as you’d expect, this critical step is not taken lightly.

Everything on the completed deck is checked and double checked before the hull is bonded with the deck with both chemical adhesive and mechanical fasteners to form an incredibly strong seal.

The deck is also pre-drilled with counter-sunk holes to accept the screws that are used to both reinforce the joint, and secure the stylish teak toe rail.

In the end, every yacht leaves the factory with a beautiful curved edged joint that’s both strong and stylish.

Meanwhile, teams of workers go through the interiors of each boat to ensure that every detail of the boat is finished to extremely high standards.

And no boat proceeds off the line until it passes a strict regimen of quality control tests including….

…making sure each boat is completely watertight, and that the engine functions properly in Dufour’s special test pool at the end of the line.

After passing all quality control tests–both inside and outside–each Dufour is then prepped for transportation to happy owners all over the world on these custom-built cradles. The cradles are designed to work on trucks and also on container ships and to make sure the boats make it to their destinations in the bristol condition they leave the factory in.

The hulls get shrink wrapped. The rigs get protected too. And then the real fun begins.

The 560 is so big it needs an escort on the roads. But needless to say, it’s more than self-sufficient on the water.

If you’re in the market for a new yacht and want to see the process firsthand, please let us know. We’d love to arrange a tour so you can see how we live 50 years of yachting passion every single day.